


flip-flops | lito

by thewordsofalullaby



Series: surprises [3]
Category: Sense8 (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Cluster Feels, F/F, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Post-Season/Series 02, Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-23
Updated: 2017-10-23
Packaged: 2019-01-21 22:09:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12466988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewordsofalullaby/pseuds/thewordsofalullaby
Summary: With a bit of help from Hernando and Dani, the cluster plan a surprise party for Lito to celebrate the premiere of his movie.(canon; post-season 2)





	flip-flops | lito

**Author's Note:**

> Set after Parts 1&2, but it can be read as a stand-alone.

In the end, it's not Wolfgang that initiates the next surprise; in fact, it’s not even a member of the cluster. Instead, everyone, minus Lito, receives a text from Hernando and Dani out of the blue asking them to log onto their computers at a certain time on a certain day. They're surprised at first, but quickly agree to do it, simply because Hernando and Dani are Lito’s family and thus, by default, they are _their_ family. Capheus is unable to reach a computer with fast enough internet connection to participate in person so he ends up visiting Sun on the day instead, appearing and sitting next to her as they start a video call with Hernando, Dani and the rest of the cluster. 

The conversation is hesitant, almost stilted at first, Hernando and Dani slowly greeting each member of the cluster in turn - by this point, they know all about the cluster, but it’s still not the easiest thing to get their heads around - but they quickly relax and end up spitting information out at them at a rapid-fire pace, speaking in a garbled mix of English and Spanish that none of them would have had any hope of understanding if it were not for their connection to Lito.

“Lito’s big Hollywood movie is premiering next month,” they tell them, their voices brimming with unbridled excitement, “and we want to plan something _amazing_ for it. We’re thinking of hosting a massive party, with dancing, plenty of tequila, delicious tapas—”

“—Uh, that all sounds great, but what do you want us to do?” Will interrupts politely with a smile, eyebrows raised, unsure of where this conversation is going.

Hernando and Dani exchange glances, grinning at each other.

“We were thinking that after our party, you could maybe hold another one for him with all of you,” they say together. “Lito told us how you appeared at his birthday party last year - how you visited each other – and, well, you’re his family too and we know that he’d love it."

The members of the cluster glance at each other through their respective screens at the request, squinting at each other's faces, and then remember that there’s a little something called _visiting_ that they can do, quickly congregating on the floor of Nomi’s apartment without saying another word. 

“We’re doing this, yes?” Capheus asks, looking around at the others. They all nod as one; they had been thinking about doing something like this themselves anyway, but now that Hernando and Dani have actually asked them to do it, they eagerly start pitching ideas to each other, brainstorming.

(Meanwhile, miles away in Mexico, Hernando and Dani roll their eyes in exasperation as their screen suddenly shows most of the cluster members staring off into space, unresponsive to their questioning, expressions dazed. Nomi’s the only one speaking now, having what seems like a very lively conversation with herself, but, of course, they know better and they know exactly what’s happening. They exchange glances with each other, rolling their eyes once again, then promptly log off from their computer and leave them to it. It’s plain _loco_ , this whole cluster business, but they know Lito is in good hands.)

 

* * *

 

This time, the collective plotting process stresses them out immensely, if only because they are well aware of the fact that Hernando and Dani are planning something overly exuberant and extravagant and they're not sure how they're ever going to follow it. They're all congregated in Nomi's apartment again, half of them squished together on the sofa, half of them lounging on the rug on the floor. Hernando had solemnly promised them that he would distract Lito so that he didn't notice what was going on; they didn't question with what at the time, but they can all feel what's going on at the moment and they regret not being more specific about the distraction, all of them squirming in their seats, cheeks flushing.

"We need to, uh, _focus,_ " Nomi says, though it comes out more than a little strained, especially as Amanita walks in, giving her a questioning look. "We need to block it out."

"What's going on?"

"We're planning a surprise party for Lito," Nomi tells her, closing her eyes and scrunching her nose as she concentrates on blocking out Lito temporarily. The others do the same, though it's a little reluctant on some of their parts (namely Wolfgang's; he has an arm draped tightly around Kala's shoulders and looks like there are a million other things he would rather be doing right now.) 

"A surprise party?" Amanita grins, then squeals, then flops down on the sofa. Sun hastily stands up to make room for her, though none of them are entirely sure if she actually needs to, seeing as she's not actually there. She gingerly sits back down on the edge of the armrest anyway. "Let's do it here!"

Nomi blinks.

"You'll need a venue, right?" Amanita doesn't wait for an answer, just grins widely, her expression going a little dazed as she starts thinking of ideas. Nomi nudges her shoulder patiently, bringing her back to reality. "Please? I miss the glitter," she says wistfully, and Wolfgang and Kala laugh, swiftly followed by the rest of the cluster.

Nomi eventually agrees to this, of course, even if she knows it's most likely (definitely) going to involve days of cleaning up after. "We'll help with that," the others say once they pick up on this, and she smiles, nods. Amanita quickly offers to be in charge of the decorations ("I'll force Bug to help me, don't worry," she says, once Nomi protests that it's a lot of work to do for someone she can't even see most of the time, "besides, I'm going to enjoy this. You know how much I love decorations!" Nomi nods, then sighs, telling her not to go too overboard even though she knows she won't listen. She's not sure she really means it anyway.) It leaves the rest of them in charge of what they're actually going to do at this party, and whilst things should be much easier with one load taken off their plates, it's only marginally so. All seven of them are so different, not only in personality but culturally, and they struggle to agree on _anything_ , from the food and drink to the music:

"You are not turning my apartment into a club," Nomi states, but Riley and Wolfgang are already exchanging sly glances from across the room, and she can hear the thrumming of electronic music starting to thump persistently in her head. "I mean it," she says, eyeing them warningly...but they just grin and the music gets irritatingly louder.

In the end, they all manage to come to a (sort of) compromise: Nomi ends up with a long list of exotic foods to try and source, Riley agrees to make a mix that takes into account everyone's different music tastes, Will and Wolfgang place themselves in charge of drinks (Kala hastily demands some input into this as well, knowing that there will be nothing that isn't beer if it's left up to them), Capheus promises to find some films in case they feel like watching something ("We're not watching Lionheart again," they tell him, laughing as he pulls a face at them and pouts a little) and Sun offers to help anyone if they should need it. Once they've (kind of) sorted out the main items, they move onto other things, like...

“Do you think we should get him a present? To say, I don't know, congrats?"

“Why? It’s not like he can actually…take it from us. Right?”

“It’s the thought that counts!”

“Is this even an occasion where you get someone a present?”

They pause, all staring at each other blankly. Lito is the only movie star they know (and will probably ever know), and this is not really a topic that any of them have much knowledge of. Nomi reaches for her computer, tries to look up the answer, but comes up empty.

“I guess we could get him one to be safe?”

"What would we even get him? He has _everything_.”

Everyone falls silent again, deep in thought, and then—

“—I have an idea,” Wolfgang says abruptly, surprising all of them (even Kala, who twists in his grip, eyebrow raised). He smiles, a little lopsidedly, as he pushes a memory at them: he’s in Berlin and Steiner’s holding a gun to the side of his head, but for some reason, even though he’s moments away from being killed, all he can think of is that he’s…lost a flip-flop? He lets the memory continue, remembering the flashes of a despairing Lito lounging in his hot-tub that he couldn’t stop himself from seeing whilst he had a barrel of a gun pressed uncomfortably against his head, and then how Lito had appeared to him, switched bodies, and saved his life. It’s not the happiest memory he could have chosen, that’s for sure; all of the cluster members wince collectively as they vividly feel the cool metal of a gun pressed roughly against _their_ heads and sink into the darkness of his headspace in that moment...but then they feel how grateful Wolfgang was – and still is – for Lito stepping in that day and smile softly in understanding. Kala wordlessly takes his hand as they return back to the present moment, interlaces their fingers together and squeezes them gently, the action swiftly pulling him out of his old life and into his new one.

“Flip-flops,” he tells them, and it’s more of a statement than a suggestion. The others don't say anything at first, then shrug, then nod in agreement.

 

* * *

 

The day after his premiere, Lito wakes up feeling a bit rough, instantly wishing that he hadn’t had so many tequila shots the night before, but then he shakes his head at himself, laughing softly as he remembers the day’s events. It had been a _fantastic_ day; both Hernando and Dani had accompanied him as his dates to the premiere and not a single reporter had made a comment about it, the film had gone down exceptionally well with the critics (Dani swears she heard his name being passed around favourably) and afterwards, they had taken him to a salsa bar where some of his closest family and friends were waiting and they had danced and drank and then danced some more.

“Hernando, I think he’s awake,” he vaguely hears someone saying in the distance, but he ignores the voice, burying his head under the covers again, still caught up in the memory of the day before. It’s a day that he thinks he’ll never forget; a day he never _wants_ to forget.

A few minutes pass before he feels the mattress sink a little, a hand gently resting on the side of his face. “Lito, are you awake?” He hears Hernando call, but he doesn’t answer, just sleepily - but firmly - pulls the man towards him, keeping his eyes shut. He feels Hernando chuckle softly, press a kiss against his neck, before turning away from him slightly. "Dani, he's definitely awake. I think you can tell them.”

Lito blinks at that, confused, and blearily opens his eyes to see Dani pacing back and forth in the corner of their bedroom, holding a phone up to her ear. He frowns at the sight, desperately trying to understand what’s going on, but she’s speaking too fast for Lito to catch anything except for "are you ready?" He squints at this, absentmindedly wondering why he’s the only one of the three who seems to be feeling the effects from last night (didn't they drink just as much as him?), his mind suddenly working in overdrive.

"You know, I did a movie once with a scene like this," he announces loudly with more than a little bit of flair, eyeing the two of them warily as he gestures around the room. "One day, my character's lover was swapped out for an imposter and she made a plan to kill him whilst he was sleeping. She had an accomplice too, who sort of looked like Dani—"

"Do I look like an imposter to you?" Hernando interrupts, as he pushes his glasses up, eyebrows raised.

"You think I look like María García?" Dani says at the same time, instantly knowing which of his movies he's talking about, shooting him an offended look. "Seriously?"

Lito rubs his eyes, looks at them properly. "I guess not," he admits after a minute to both questions, before tugging Hernando by the arm so that he can see his face better. Hernando smiles softly in response, but then Lito’s narrowing his eyes, squinting at him, "but you could be a very good imposter and Dani—"

"—Lito _,_ stop _,_ " they both say, quickly shushing him, the tone of their voices making him fall silent. "Okay, I think he’s ready," Dani tells whoever is on the other end of the phone, before adding, "he's being a bit _dram_ _á_ _tico_ this morning though: enjoy!"

He opens his mouth to vehemently protest at that description – he’s not being dramatic, he’s just being…vigilant; and even if he is being dramatic, what’s wrong with that? – but before he gets a chance to express his outrage, Dani hangs up the phone (with a flourish) and joins them on top of the bed. He glances between them both, still not entirely understanding what's going on, frowning slightly as each of them grab one of his hands in theirs.

“Close your eyes,” they tell him, now grinning at each other, and Lito finds himself doing it even though he’s not really sure whether he should be trusting them right now. He feels the lightest of kisses being pressed to his lips and cheek by Hernando and Dani respectively, hears a soft, murmured "Dani, don't worry, you don't look anything like María García; I think he's just...in a mood", and then feels a strong tug in his mind bringing him straight to San Francisco.

He opens his eyes when he feels the cluster nudge at his mind - all seven of them - and his mouth falls open slightly as he sees them all standing around him, almost in a semi-circle, each holding out an unidentifiable object to him. He rubs his eyes again, adjusting to his surroundings, then blinks, still just as confused. 

“Why is your apartment so sparkly?”

He almost doesn’t hear Nomi’s muttered “blame Neets” as he continues looking around the room, registering the colourful banners hanging from the ceiling, the table on the side laden with an odd mix of beer, chai tea and eight shots of tequila ( _tequila cubed_ ), the sound of 'What's Up' playing softly in the background and the large stack of DVDs lying at Capheus’ feet, a lot of which look very familiar. It hits him then, what this is.

“This, all of this, it’s for me?” He asks, beaming at them, even though they all know he can already feel the answer to that question in the back of his head.

Riley steps forward, nods, and gives him a soft smile. He realises then that they’re all still holding out objects to him - some of whom are doing it more enthusiastically (Capheus) than others (Sun) - and he raises an eyebrow, narrows his eyes. “We thought we’d get you something,” Riley explains, before her voice turns a little hesitant, unsure, glancing around at the rest of the cluster for support, “as a…present?”

He smiles at that, pulls her into a hug, but then backs away, flushing furiously as he realises exactly what she’s holding; what they’re all holding. It takes him very little time to connect the dots, whipping his head around to the other side of the room where Wolfgang is now leaning against the wall, arms crossed, expression neutral.

“Wolfgang!” Lito shouts, shooting him an over-exaggerated look of betrayal, hands clutching at his heart. Wolfgang just laughs lowly in response, shrugs, looking nonchalant. “I can’t believe you told them about that. That was—that was supposed to be a _secret_! Don't call me next time you need help!” Lito tells him, but they all know he doesn’t mean it – or, at least, isn’t offended by Wolfgang's actions in the slightest – because he’s grinning, walking over to the man in question and clapping him on the back. He then walks around and accepts the offered flip-flops from each of them in turn. “Thank you, thank you,” he says, giving them a mock-bow once he's collected them all.

“It could have been worse,” Sun remarks, slowly crossing her arms, her voice suspiciously light, “I could have told them to get you a pillow.”

The others blink, stare at her. They’re not entirely sure what she’s talking about, her words meaning little to them, but Lito clearly catches on fast because he suddenly whips her head around to look at her, eyes wide.

“No, no, Sun, wait, don't, _por favor_ —”

Sun smiles wryly, shrugs, closes her eyes and then all eight of them are transported to a dimly lit hotel room, watching Lito throw himself dramatically onto a bed of pillows, dressed in a blue onesie. Nomi notes to herself that whilst she had thought that seeing Wolfgang covered in glitter weeks ago was priceless, this might be even better.

“Isn’t this supposed to be _my_ party?” Lito wails, a note of despair entering his voice, his pitch getting higher by the second as the rest of them struggle to stifle their laughter. “This is—this is unfair!”

They shoot him apologetic looks, still laughing, but then Sun is wordlessly pushing another memory into their heads, of moments before when she had found Lito lying in the middle of the street, claiming that he was practicing for his future as a homeless, unemployable failure.

“We’re really glad that didn't happen,” Kala says softly as the memory fades, reaching forward to take his hands in hers. The rest of the cluster nod in agreement, silently telling him just how proud they are of him for everything that’s happened in the past year, before moving towards them and placing their hands on top as well.

“I love you, family,” Lito tells them earnestly after a moment, grinning widely again as he looks at all of them; all his brothers and sisters. In his mind, he asks them a question, and all seven of them nod in agreement, move towards the table and take a tequila shot in sync. "Now, my friends, let us party!"

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think! :)


End file.
